Pastels
by Ageha-chama
Summary: The twelve year old Shalnark originally planned to attend the Hunter Exam just for fun. He never expected he would make his first friend and learn something new during those days. Mild ShalnarkxOC.
1. 1st Color

**Greetings! This is my second OC story in this fandom. Unlike the previous one, the OC I pair with Shalnark here isn't a wallflower-kind of OC so this story isn't a part of my Wallflower Project. This story will be quite short, covering the Hunter Exam only.**

**I hope you'll enjoy this story. Please forgive me for any grammatical mistake and typo you see. Corrections are always welcomed.**

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**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but this fanfic and some OCs.

**Important note:** This story takes place around four years prior to the manga/anime.

**Summary:** The twelve year old Shalnark originally planned to attend the Hunter Exam just for fun. He never expected he would make his first friend and learn something new during those days. Mild ShalnarkxOC.

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**Pastels**

**First Color**

**Lilac**

A boy in his tween stood in front of a majestic looking hotel. He looked up at an enormous sized, black and gold colored name plate above the building entrance. A smile bloomed on his face as he confirmed that the hotel before him was indeed the place he was looking for.

The boy walked up the stairs in front of the entrance. A porter opened one of the oak doors and bowed politely as he passed by. He arrived at the well furnished lobby then looked around, searching for the receptionist desk. It didn't take much time for him to find it. He walked straight to the other side of the room, where the receptionist desk was.

"Good afternoon, Sir. How can I help you?" the receptionist lady greeted while sporting a warm, businessman's smile.

"I want to reserve a room," the boy said. "President Suit on the highest floor, with a sea view."

People around him blinked in confusion as they heard him. His request sounded absurd to their ears. Not only that this small boy, who came by himself, asked for the most expensive room; he also asked for a sea view which was totally impossible as the hotel located in the middle of mountains. Nevertheless, the receptionist lady didn't show any sign of bewilderment. Instead, she nodded and hand an electronic card to the boy.

"Please use the elevator on the west side," she said while pointing at her left. "We hope you enjoy your stay."

The boy took the card and proceeded to the elevator as instructed by the receptionist lady. The elevator doors closed shortly after he got it. There were a lot of numbered buttons on the panel beside the door, indicating the destination floors, and a line-shaped hole on the bottom of it. Knowing what he was supposed to do, he didn't press any button but inserted the card he got earlier into the hole. Shortly after that, the elevator started moving down.

B1… B2… B3… B5… B10… B20… B50…

The elevator kept going underground.

The boy leaned his back to the wooden wall. He fished out his phone from his pocket and played some shooting games on it while waiting for the elevator to reach its destination.

The boy's name was Shalnark and he had just turned twelve this year. He might look ordinary and harmless on the outside, but one shouldn't underestimate him. He wasn't an ordinary kid. He was member of an infamous thief group called Phantom Troupe.

And on this special occasion, he had come all the way from his hometown, Meteor City, to the Hunter Exam… just to kill some boredom.

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PING.

Shalnark looked up from his phone as he heard that sound. He looked at the screen above the panel and learned that he had just arrived at floor B200. The doors slide open, revealing a small room ahead, another door, and a little man who stood by that door.

"Welcome to the 283rd Hunter Exam." The little man said as Shalnark walked toward him. Now that Shalnark had gotten a better view of that man, he realized that the head was actually round and green like a pea. It was hard to guess whether it was a real head or a mask.

"Here's your badge; your examination number is written on it. Please take a good care on it and don't lose it at any cost." The pea-head man said as he handed a round plate with number 467 on it to the blond boy.

Shalnark took the badge and looked at it closely for a while before pinning it on his right chest.

"We wish you the best of luck." The pea-head then stepped back and told the boy to go to the next room.

Shalnark pushed the heavy door and enter a much, much larger room. The room was probably even larger the lobby two hundred stories above. The room was round and the wall was very tall. The ceiling couldn't be seen from where he stood. Unlike the previous room, this room wasn't floored with tiles and the wall was made from stone. On the top of everything, the some parts of the wall were even covered by moss. The room totally looked like pit of a gigantic well. It just lack of water.

Shalnark walked deeper through the crowd, planning to find a good place to standby and play some games again while waiting for the exam to start. He then happened to see a fat man with square nose handing out some canned juice to several examinees. That fat man strange behavior sparked an interest in him so he decided to get a closer look at what that fat man was doing. Who knows? It might be a good way to spend the time.

"Please take this to celebrate our meeting." Shalnark heard the fat man said while handing out another canned juice. The examinee the fat man was talking originally to refused it, but then took it because the fat man kept insisting that he should take it. After talking for a while, the fat man then bit a good bye to that examinee. He looked around, searching for someone new to talk to. His eyes glinted with mischievousness as he caught a glimpse of a little boy, who was no other than Shalnark.

"Hi there, boy!" The fat man quickly approached Shalnark with a big smile plastered on his face. "I haven't seen you around before. This must be your first time isn't it?"

Shalnark nodded slightly. He then asked. "Who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself," The fat man said in a rather dramatic way. "I'm Tonpa."

"Nice to meet you, Uncle Tonpa." Shalnark beamed.

"Unc-. Uh, yes, yes, nice too meet you too." Tonpa thick eyebrows twitched as he heard the boy called him uncle, but quickly covered the agitated expression with another fake smile.

"Hey, how do you know that this is my first time?" Shalnark asked as he innocently tilted his head.

"You see, this is my 32nd time taking the exam, so I can easily tell new faces." Tonpa answered with a proud tone in his voice, even though it wasn't something that could be proud of.

"I see. That's great. You must know most of examinees here very well." Shalnark said, while mentally noted on what a sore loser this fat man was.

"Of course, I know everything about the examinees here," Tonpa raised his chin. He pointed his finger at a composed looking geezer behind him, "You see the old man over there? He is Kenzo, very good at handling wooden sword. And the timid looking man who is talking to him is Goreinu. It's his third time trying out the exam." Tonpa then pointed at a group of three people who bore similar faces, "Those guys are Amori brothers. Each of their individual skill is good, but they are even better when they're operating as a team. And then the guy over ther-"

"What about the guy you talked to just now?" Shalnark cut in.

Tonpa was taken aback by the sudden question. "Ah, oh, that guy. He's Meyer, a newbie like you."

"Is that so? I thought he was your old acquaintance because you gave him a drink."

"Ah... Ahahahahah… No, I just gave it to him because he looks thirsty. Speaking of which, boy, do you feel thirsty too?" Tonpa fished out a can from his bag then give it to the boy.

"Thank you." Shalnark took the orange colored can.

"Well…" Tonpa began as he rubbed his hands together and looked at the boy in expectation.

"'Well'?" Shalnark repeated.

"Why don't you drink it now?"

"Nah, I'll save it for later! The exam should be tiring, right? I'll drink it after the exam ends."

"But… But… aren't you thirsty?"

"A little… but I can bear it."

"Well then, you should drink this now. I'll give you another one if you feel thirsty again."

"Nah, it'll be troublesome if I suddenly want to use the restroom in the middle of exam."

Tonpa frowned. He couldn't argue that one. "Okay… just make sure you drink it _later_."

"Okay." Shalnark chirped. The fat man then gave him a weary smile before he retreated, probably searching for another examinee to talk to.

Shalnark looked at the canned juice in his hand. This orange juice was most likely spiked. If it hadn't been, that Tonpa old man wouldn't have forced people to take and drink them. Besides, that fat man didn't look sincere at the slightest. One could easily tell he was hiding something in one glance. To think that one would something unproductive like this in order to cut down the number of competitors… No wonder why that Tonpa still didn't pass the exam even after thirty-something years.

Shalnark shrugged and put the spiked juice in his pocket. Oh well, it's not his problem. That fat man would eventually fail again for all he cared.

"Hey you."

The platinum blond haired boy turned around as he felt that someone was calling him. He saw a girl was looking back at him. She was a little taller than him and probably older than him by one or two years.

"Yes?" He replied questioningly.

"_The juice_. Did you take it?" She asked in interrogative manner. By the juice, she must be referring to the one Tonpa had just given him.

"I did. Why?" He asked back.

"'Why' your head. It is not good! That juice is dangerous! You should throw it away!" She said, placing her hands on the hips.

He blinked in confusion seeing a sudden outburst.

The girl shook her head. Her short strawberry blonde hair swayed as she did so. "Doesn't your mother tell you not to accept things –on the top of everything, food– from strangers? Geez, kids these days should be more careful. What if he had put something inside that juice?"

Shalnark didn't have any mother so obviously he got no one that would tell him what was the right thing to do and what wasn't. Not that he bothered about it though.

"I got it. I'll throw it away once we get out of here." He smiled at her. He already knew that there was something inside the juice, but he decided to just go with the flow since he didn't want this girl to lecture him again like some old woman.

"Good!" The frown on her face turned into a smile. "You know, I was worried when I saw that man… er, what was his name again? Ton something? Tonkotsu?"

"'Tonpa'." He corrected.

"Yes, yes… Tonpa. I was worried when I saw that Tonpa man approached you. You know what, earlier he had approached me as well and forced me to take the juice. I had had to lie that I had been allergic to persevered food to shake him off. Really, he must be a pedophile! Just look at his lecherous face." She shuddered a bit as she hugged her small body.

Tonpa surely got one hell of ugly face topped with a suspicious smirk, but Shalnark didn't really think that he was a pedophile. If any, he was just some loser that wanted to get several people fail the test with him.

"But he also gave the juice to other applicants." Shalnark said.

"Too naïve!" She pointed a finger at him. "He must have been doing it so that no one can tell that his targets are actually cute kids like us."

Ah, she just self-proclaimed that she was cute.

"Is that so? I personally don't think he's a pedo though."

"Why?"

"Because… If he was a real pedo, he would look for his target on the streets, not on the Hunter Exam ground." He explained.

She put her point finger on her lips and thought for a while. "Now you mention it…" She muttered.

"Right?" He grinned.

"It might be true… but it doesn't change the fact that he IS a suspicious fellow. He might be dangerous." She insisted.

"I agree about that, but you don't need to worry about him. That dude isn't strong at all."

She tilted her head to the side. "Why do you think so?"

'It's because he doesn't possess any significant amount of aura.' He wanted to say that, but it would be no use talking about aura-related matter to a non nen user. "Well, if he was strong, he wouldn't have failed the test over thirty times, would he?" He explained in a more understandable way.

"Oh, you got the point." She clapped her hands together then laughed. "Silly me, I shouldn't have make a fuss over such a man."

He laughed with her. It was the truth. Most examinees there didn't possess any threat to him; that Tonpa with his spiked juice for example; or several groups of men around him who had been keeping an eye on him.

_Don't joke around. This isn't a play ground for kids._

_Just see. They'll eventually cry and ask for home._

_Heheh. I can't wait to hear their begging for mercy._

Those were what they were whispering to one another as they watched the two kids. They just didn't know that one of the kids before them was a member of an A-ranked bounties group of thieves who could beat them singlehandedly.

"By the way, I'm Luce, Luce Estoile." The girl suddenly said to Shalnark. Her sudden introduction made him focusing his attention to her again.

"I'm Shalnark," he replied. "_Just_ Shalnark, if you were wondering about my surname."

The girl named Luce laughed. "Well, _just _Shalnark… It seems like the Exam will begin shortly," she said as she raised her right hand and shove it toward the younger boy. "Let's both do our best, 'kay, Shal?"

_To do his best_… Actually he didn't need to do such a thing. As a nen user, he would naturally overqualified the exam. However, it didn't sound half bad. He might try to do his best to enjoy this little game called Hunter Exam.

Shalnark reached out his hand and took her hand. His lips curved forming a smile as they shook hands.

"_Sure."_

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**I hope you like the first chapter. Please spare a minute or two to fill the review box bellow and tell me what you think about this chapter.**

**See you on the next chapter :)**


	2. 2nd Color

**Hello! Sorry if the update takes so long. I decided to rewrite this chapter. I can say that I'm quite satisfied with it compared to what I was supposed to publish last month. I hope you'll like it and agree that it worth the wait.**

**I'd like to thank sunflower990, sorucchi, Madin456, Bushwah, and Kittypaw330 for the reviews. I also want to thank everyone who follow and/or favorite this story. Thank you so much for your support!**

**Disclaimer: Hunter x Hunter and its characters belongs to our King of Hiatus, Togashi Yoshihiro. *laughs***

**I rechecked this chapter but you might still spot some grammatical errors and typos.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Second Color**

**Baby Blue**

"I shall congratulate all of you for successfully find this place. However, it's still too early for you to rejoice as the hell is just about to start."

A man in his forty with muscular body stood before the crowd. He had silver hair that reached his square jaw and a crooked nose, while his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. He wore a gray shirt, a blue tie over it and a pair of black pants. His attires resembled ones that normal workers would wear, but the aura around him clearly showed that he was nothing near normal. He was a hunter, a great one, as well as the proctor for the first phase.

"Let me tell you this. There's no guarantee you can get out from here alive, let alone passing the exam. If you still want to live longer, I suggest you should just step down and get out from here. This is your last chance. There's no turning back once the exam begins."

The proctor gazed at the examinees. Some of them looked tensed, but no one moved from where they were standing; not even a single inch.

"Well then, let's begin the exam. My name is Morel," He said as he pointed his thumb to his chest. "And I'll be waiting for you at the top." Without giving further explanation, he turned around and walked out of the room. The thick stone door closed itself behind his back. A loud click was heard when the only way to get out of the room was locked.

Some of the examinees, probably the rookies, were flabbergasted due the lack of explanation on how the first phase would be. On the other hand, the more experienced ones looked composed as they began to look around the room. The proctors changed every year and it wasn't unusual to meet some eccentric ones, just like Morel. At time like this, when the proctor didn't explain the procedure or requirement to pass the phase, it was best to keep their head cool and analyze the situation thoroughly.

'_The top'_ Morel had mentioned was probably the ground floor, since they were in the basement, or a higher floor. Since the door was locked and it was impossible to break through it, the only way to get to the top was by climbing up the wall. They were at B250 right now, so the distance they had to overcome in order to reach the ground floor was around 600 to 700 meters, depends on the height of each floor. It wasn't really different from climbing up a sky scraper.

Climbing up such a height did require a lot of stamina, but the difficulty wasn't high. One only had to watch out their step and avoid moss that made the path slippery.

Just when the examinees felt relieved that the exam wasn't as hard as they thought it would have been, suddenly an alarm rang. Water then began to sip out from interstices between the wall and the floor. It soaked their feet and quickly rose up to the calf.

"Well, what do you think?" The strawberry blond haired girl asked the platinum blond haired boy.

"It seems like the water will keep flowing in and fill the room. In that case, it'll be much easier to drift in the water than to climb up the wall," Shalnark said as he looked down at his feet. His shoes and half of his green pants were already soaked. "However…"

"However?" Luce repeated as she watched the younger boy moved his foot in the water.

He looked up and faced her for a while before he turned his face to the left. He raised his hand and point at a certain direction. "Do you see the trap door there?"

She looked at the center of the room. Most of the examinees had moved aside, gathering around the wall, and makes it easier for her to get a clearer view of the area he was pointing at. She squinted her purple eyes; there were some very narrow, line-shaped gaps on the floor. Those five meters long lines formed a square and it indeed looked a big trap door just like what he said.

"Since it doesn't look like we can get out through it, don't you feel like there will be something came out of it?" Shalnark pointed out.

She tapped a finger on her lips. "You got the point. Judging from how high the water level might be, I won't be surprise if a horde of sharks suddenly come out and attack whoever remains in the water."

"Whatever lies behind that door, I bet it's much deadlier than sharks." He put his hands on the back of his head and shrugged. "Anyway, seems like we have no choice but climb up the wall. We better stay away from the water."

The two young teenagers walked toward the nearest wall and found a space where they could climb. After taking a quick examination on the contour of the wall and measured the slipperiness of the surface, they concluded that the track was dangerous. The wall was wet and there were only a few holes on it that he could use for grips. With this height, even a professional wall climber would think twice before challenging it.

Climbing this up would be quite tiring, not to mention that the proctor _must have _set traps somewhere. Luckily, Shalnark had hills and mountains of trashes as his playground back in Ryuuseigai. A solid, _slightly_ slippery rock wall wasn't much a challenge compared to them. He leaped onto the wall and climbed up around five meters. He felt his pants had become heavier because of water so wagged his feet in attempt to shake off some weigh. The water sprinkled on people around him, causing them to frown upon him.

He then noticed that she wasn't following him. He looked down and raised a questioning brow at the girl who stood still. The water had risen up to her hips.

"You're not coming?" He asked.

"You know… Shal," she said slowly. "I don't think… I can climb this up."

"Huh?" He blinked. "What did you just say?"

"I _can't_ climb this up." She repeated.

The boy jumped down, making a big splash. He received glares and snarls from the other examinees but he couldn't care less. He was curious on what she was saying.

"What do you mean by you _can't_?" He asked.

"Can't means can't… unable, not capable of…" She crossed her arms and looked up. "You see, I know my own limit. This is too much for me. I'll either lose my strength midway or slip. Either way, I'll still fail climbing this."

"Err, so you're just going to stand here? Despite you know there'll be traps?" He looked at her unbelievingly.

She turned her face to look at him. "Of course no." She said like it was the obvious. "I'll work something out… somehow. You don't need to worry." She smiled at him and waved her hand, making a shooing gesture. "Saa, you can go first. I'll catch up soon."

"Okay…" He replied uncertainly then started to climb again. He peaked passed his shoulder and kept his eyes on her while going upward slowly. To be honest, rather than _worry_, it was more like he was _curious. _He wanted to know what she was planning to do. Not everyday would he find someone who could easily admit their own limit to others. Well, not in his birthplace, where everyone had to struggle to survive.

He was now ten meters above her. She was still standing there and did nothing, but two adults had approached her. They seemed to be talking to her. Unable to hold his curiosity, he stopped on his track and perked his ears. Their voices were faint because of the distance among them, but he could still hear them if he concentrated.

He heard her voice, but it sounded restrained. Her words weren't clear because she hiccupped a lot. No, it wasn't hiccups. It was… sobs? He slightly widened his eyes. Wait, she had been _fine_, and it wasn't even fiv- no, three minutes since they parted.

"Foolish!" One of the men shouted at her. It was a man with gray mid-length hair and beard that reached his chest. He had a wooden sword on his left hips and wore a v-neck midnight blue shirt and black long-skirt-like pants which Shalnark identified as Japon's traditional clothes. The boy remembered this old man. Tonpa had once mentioned about him and his sword skill, but Shalnark didn't remember the name.

"But… but…" The girl sobbed. Her face was hidden behind her hands.

"Don't be too harsh." The other man said. Judging from his voice, it looked like he sympathized with the crying girl before him (though Shalnark wasn't quite sure if she was crying for real or not). This man was younger than the swordman. He had black short hair and a bulky body. His face was reminiscent of a gorilla, especially his big nose. He was also one of the men Tonpa had mentioned earlier. Shalnark had memorized his name quite easily because it matched his appearance. It was Goreinu, if the boy recalled correctly.

"You reap what you sow," The old swordman said sternly. "Hunter Exam isn't a playground for kids."

"I- I'm sorry," she squeaked. "But my sick brother is waiting at home. We- we don't have parent. I need to buy him medicines and… and…" Her words disappeared as she sobbed even more.

Goreinu looked at her sadly but the swordman looked away and huffed.

"Hmph, another foolish youngster who thinks they could earn money easily as long as they have license." He said.

"Kenzo!" Goreinu was about to protest on how heartless the old swordman called Kenzo was, but the latter side-glared at him and made the ravenhead shut his mouth at once.

Kenzo looked down at the girl. "You said you have a brother." he began. "And you left him alone despite his sickness?"

Luce seemed like she didn't dare to at the scary-looking gramps. She buried her face in her hands and weakly chanted, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The gramps let out a deep sigh. "In that case you'll have to go home quickly."

She looked up and her face brightened.

"We'll help you get out from here," Goreinu patted her shoulder then turned around. He bent his back, offering her a free piggyback ride. "Get on."

"Quickly, before something evil come out!" Kenzo reminded as he eyed his surroundings. "I'll cover your back." He said to Goreinu in low voice.

Shalnark watched the small group started to climb below him. It was _too easy_. He didn't understand why they would buy her words that easily. The talk about sick brother and all sounded fake to him. It made him wonder. Were people on the outside world always this soft, and not to mention, foolish?

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As expected, the proctor, Morel, had set a handful number of traps. Another alarm rang when the water had filled about one sixth of the room. Several kinds of aquatic creatures were then released from the trap door at the bottom of the room. In a blink of eye, hordes of small Amazoness fish bared their little yet extremely sharp teeth on everyone who stayed in the water. Some bigger fish preferred attacking examinees that were climbing up the wall. Perhaps their animal instinct drove them to hunt anything that was running away from them. Those fish jumped several meters out of the water, snatched their prey then dove into the water with big splashes. The strong splashes also caused a few examinees slipped from their grips and fell down.

The water turned reddish for a while; as if red ink was poured into it. Ear piercing screams were heard as the poor men were devoured by carnivore creatures but the surviving examinees didn't even spare a glance as they were too busy to save their own lives.

Shalnark looked down. Kenzo and Goreinu were still below him. It was obvious that Goreinu had a hard time climbing, especially with a _luggage_ on his back. It would be easier for that man to just ditch the girl, but it seemed like he didn't have the heart to do so.

"Hmph, I'm sure they'll fall anytime soon," Someone who was right above Shalnark muttered. "That Goreinu should learn to prioritize himself over others." That man then glared at the boy. "You too, I know you keep looking at them from time to time. Worried about your girlfriend eh, boy?" He grinned mockingly, showing his yellow teeth. They were disgusting.

Shalnark stared at the man for a while before replying with a wide smile. "Aren't you doing the same, old man? Don't tell me you actually want to give her a piggyback ride as well." He took a quick glance at the man and added. "Oh, on second thought, you do like a _bear_."

"Why you!" The man grimaced. He tried to stomp on Shalnark's hand, but the latter dodged quickly. The boy snickered and it made him angrier. His face turned into ugly dark red. He didn't only try to crush the boy's small hands but also kick his blonde head.

Shalnark laughed louder as if the rampage was nothing but a game to him. "What's wrong," He dodged. "Old man," He dodged again. "Your face looks like a rotten tomato."

"Brat!" The man cursed under his breath. He put a lot of strength into his kick. He was sure it would hit the boy's arrogant face, but he missed again. His last attempt made one of his hands slipped off. He was now hanging with only a hand supporting all of his weight. Panicked, he quickly looked up and tried to grab anything he could use as a grip.

But then, an alarm suddenly rang. It was similar to the previous ones.

A large quantity of water poured down from above, turning the wall into waterfall. The man's other hand slipped and he got washed away by the pressure. Shalnark quickly ducked so that the man's big body didn't hit him. Luckily, he didn't hit Goreinu and Luce either, as Kenzo shoved them away in time.

"Oh." Shalnark's mouth turned into an O shape when he saw the man plunged into the water and disappeared, presumably into the fish' bellies. The boy then made a face, not because he felt sorry for the man but because he lost his _playmate_. He faced to the wall once again and resumed climbing. The water level rose twice faster than before and it hurried him and the other examinees to climb up faster despite the pressure from waterfall.

The fourth alarm rang after a while. Some of the examinees were clever enough and learned from their experience. They intentionally didn't climbed too fast yet not to too slow, remaining right in the middle of the party. Just like they had predicted, bad things, or creatures to be exact, fell down along with the waterfall and landed on those who advanced on the front line. Those creatures hissed as they coiled around the examinees' limbs and necks like ropes and bit with their venomous fangs. More people fell down into the water.

Alligator-like creatures crawled out of the water and chased the examinees as soon as the next alarm rang. More traps revealed their selves every time the examinees heard the alarm. As time passed by, the examinees were more prepared and raised their guard whenever the alarm rang so that they weren't caught in surprise attack anymore. However, the traps, which were mostly deadly aquatic creatures, were still hard to dodge even though the examinees were aware of their coming.

After two hours of hellish wall climbing, the examinees finally arrived at their destination. Morel was standing several feet away from the gigantic _hole. _The ones who had reached the top gathered around him. Some of them took the change to take a rest while waiting for the others to arrive.

Shalnark was among those who had reached the top the fastest. The boy sat down on the dry ground and fished his phone out to check its condition. The phone was supposed to be water proof and he had protected it with ten percent of his aura as precaution, but he still need to check it just in case the water pressure somehow had broken it. He knew he would be doomed if his phone broke down; he wouldn't be able to neither use his nen nor contact his mates. On the top of everything, he would be unable to play games and on the worst case, he might lose all of the saved data. He didn't want to start the games from the very beginning.

Luce's group arrived after several minutes. After talking Goreinu and Kenzo, which looked like she was showing her gratitude for their help, she approached Shalnark and sat down beside him.

"Hey." She greeted. She didn't look as exhausted as the rest. That was to be expected though, as she hadn't needed to climb the wall herself. All she had done was clinging to Goreinu and, perhaps, cheering on the man and his friend.

"Hey," Shalnark greeted back as he shoved his phone back into his wet pocket. "I see you have worked something out _somehow_."

She shrugged then lowered her voice as she replied. "Well, the proctor only told us to go to the top. He didn't mention that we had to climb the wall by ourselves, did he?"

"That's true." He nodded slightly. Well, he had guessed it was what she had been planning as soon as he had seen Goreinu had offered to carry her.

"I feel bad to Goreinu, though." She said as she looked at the said man, whose face clearly showed that he was deadly exhausted. "I almost choked him because I accidentally squeezed my arms around his neck too tightly."

The boy stared at her face profile. He couldn't decide whether this girl was mean or kind. She was unique, he decided. That was a good thing though, since it meant he could expect some entertainment from her.

His attention was then diverted when Morel stepped forward and talked.

"Good job getting your way here. Now I shall explain the requirement you need to fulfill in order to pass the first phase."

The examinees gaped as they heard the proctor announced that the wall climbing was _not_ the first phase, despite how many trapped he had set there.

A smug smirk appeared on Morel's face; it seemed like he enjoyed seeing their reaction upon his words. He then took a round object from the pocket on his left chest and showed it to people before him. It was a shiny dark red ball of which size was not bigger than one centimeter.

"Bloody pearl," he began explaining. "Crystallized urine of Garnesia Thornets, which can only be produced after they consume a certain amount of fresh blood. It's a quite rare organic gemstone. One single bloody pearl at this size cost at least one billion Jenny."

Some people who had scowled earlier when he had mentioned about fish' urine suddenly looked at the pearl in high interest after they heard its price.

"Your task is to get the bloody pearl from _there_," Morel pointed at the hellish well where the examinees had crawled out from less than half an hour before. "Get out alive. Bring the pearl to me; one pearl per person. After I check that the thing you find is the real deal, you'll pass the first phase. I'll also let you keep the pearl as a bonus."

Passing the phase plus taking an expensive pearl home sounded like a sweat deal. It was enough to make most of the examinees jump into the water despite the danger it possessed. A small group of people, however, decided to forfeit because they still prized their live more than anything.

"You better stay here." Kenzo told Luce when he and Goreinu walked past her and Shalnark.

"Okay." She chirped as she waved her hand to the two adults who were walking away.

Goreinu turned his face and smiled at her. He looked at the boy next to her with a worried face for a moment before he faced forward. He and Kenzo soon arrived by the giant well. They took their time examining the situation and finally dove into the water.

Shalnark turned to Luce after the two adults disappeared from their eyes. He raised a brow. "You aren't going to forfeit here, are you?"

"Of course not!" She grinned. "Let's go, Shal!"

She then grabbed his hand and dragged him. He smirked at her as he sped up so that they were side by side now. The two ran toward the 600 meters depth manmade lake and jumped into it without hesitation.

* * *

**If you're wondering, Morel is the Morel from Chimera Ant Hell arc and Goreinu is the Goreinu from Greed Island arc. The rest of characters, except Shal, are OCs. Garnesia Thornet and Bloody Pearl are self-made as well. They are purely fictional.**

**Thank you for reading and I hope you don't mind to share your thought about this chapter in the review box bellow. Concrits and suggestions are always welcome :)**


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